Cloud technology is unstoppable and changing the way we work together. But where does the human being end up when more and more data, topics and communication take place in the cloud? And does it make him more expendable – or even more important?

Digitization is changing our work processes

Digitization and its associated challenges are increasingly putting companies under pressure. If you want to stay competitive and responsive, you must change a lot. One field of action and first step is the digitization of communication and work processes: e-mails and various (often) cloud-based tools simplify daily communication and, above all, make them independent of time and location.

Not everyone likes “digitization”

However, not every employee is equally positive about these changes. On the contrary, many feel tremendous pressure and the feeling that they are no longer able to keep up properly or that they simply cannot learn certain things anymore. What is, in itself, not a new phenomenon in our line of work – the change of technologies – is accelerating its speed significantly.

Digitization – what for?!

An elementary question that inevitably arises is why (!) we digitize processes (and, in the next step, perhaps whole business models as well). Is it an end in itself – or, ideally, for improving work, satisfaction and productivity? An important question remains: how do we take everyone in organizations to the digital future of work without excluding or leaving anyone behind along the way?

The future of work is agile – but how do we all get there?

Something that many are forecasting for the future, and which is already becoming noticeable in many places, is the increase in project work, some of which is highly interdisciplinary. This, almost all experts agree, will increase significantly in both small teams and large organizations, and will make companies more responsive and innovative. Project work offers many opportunities to reunite people in an organization, to strengthen cooperation instead of competition, and above all to promote the transfer of knowledge within the company.

Knowledge transfer is the keyword.

A clever transfer of knowledge, which must inevitably take place in projects, can in turn facilitate mutual learning – of course also for digital matters! Mentoring, a very personal and valued form of cooperation between two colleagues who support each other on specific issues, can also accompany the path to a common digital future. Being able to intelligently associate employees, and thus knowledge and experiences, in organizations is clearly the key not only to a more agile organization, but also to a common shaping of the digital transformation. The fact that this transfer of knowledge and the emergence of various flexible working models and forms of cooperation are supported digitally is ultimately a very important means to an end, but not an end in itself.

Only “top-down” doesn’t work.

We are shaping the digital transformation together, that much is clear. A pure “top-down” arrangement of change processes will therefore not be effective. Technologies like the cloud can meaningfully support change, and provide the infrastructure for people in companies to connect, share their knowledge, and ultimately work together more cooperatively and successfully. This creates breathing organizations that are not only prepared for change through the intelligence, knowledge and flexibility of the many, but that actively shape and drive them forward. Thus, the cloud is not only “hip” in the end, but also extremely helpful and supportive for individual people – and the organizations based on it.